Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist is trying use a bill authorizing U.S. military operations, including in Iraq and Afghanistan, to prohibit people from using credit cards to settle Internet gambling debts.

Frist, R-Tenn., and his aides have been meeting with other lawmakers and officials in both the House and Senate to get the measure attached to a compromise Defense Department authorization bill, according to a Senate GOP leadership aide.

The House passed a version of the Internet gambling measure in July, but the Senate has taken no action on similar legislation. Neither of the defense bills passed by the House and Senate mention it.

Frist is pushing for an approach that isn't quite as sweeping as the House measure, said the leadership aide and lobbyists following the issue. All spoke on condition of anonymity because of the ongoing negotiations.

Frist, eyeing a 2008 presidential bid, recently discussed the online gambling measure in the politically important state of Iowa. He also called it a legislative priority in a recent speech on the Senate floor.

The measure's supporters include the National Football League as well as conservative and antigambling groups. Some banking groups are lobbying against it.

Federal officials have made recent arrests involving offshore companies operating Internet gambling sites. The Internet gambling industry is headquartered almost entirely outside the United States although many of its customers live in the U.S.

The bills authorizing defense programs are: S.2507 and H.R.5122.

AP

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Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist is trying use a bill authorizing U.S. military operations, including in Iraq and Afghanistan, to prohibit people from using credit cards to settle Internet gambling debts.

Frist, R-Tenn., and his aides have been meeting with other lawmakers and officials in both the House and Senate to get the measure attached to a compromise Defense Department authorization bill, according to a Senate GOP leadership aide.

The House passed a version of the Internet gambling measure in July, but the Senate has taken no action on similar legislation. Neither of the defense bills passed by the House and Senate mention it.

Frist is pushing for an approach that isn't quite as sweeping as the House measure, said the leadership aide and lobbyists following the issue. All spoke on condition of anonymity because of the ongoing negotiations.

Frist, eyeing a 2008 presidential bid, recently discussed the online gambling measure in the politically important state of Iowa. He also called it a legislative priority in a recent speech on the Senate floor.

The measure's supporters include the National Football League as well as conservative and antigambling groups. Some banking groups are lobbying against it.

Federal officials have made recent arrests involving offshore companies operating Internet gambling sites. The Internet gambling industry is headquartered almost entirely outside the United States although many of its customers live in the U.S.

this could actually work out better in the long run if we let him put in the laws about the credit card.i think he knows the real internet gambling bill won't pass so he is looking to pass something even if it is small so he can pacify the ones who are looking to outlaw the whole thing.he might win the battle but he will lose the war on this....

Thanks Jorli D and Lottomike. I would have guessed that - being that he is in the foreground and doing the expressing. If this bill is piggybacked on the defense bill our asses are grass. Not only with this but with things to come.

To save my life I can't get a handle on the real reason for the ban other than maxing credit cards which are unsecured and walking away OR being unable to effectively collect taxes on winnings OR profits being used to fund terrorism or organized crime.

News report out of National Journal (a political publication following Hill action)

"According to an aide, Frist has decided to push for a truncated version of the House bill that would bar banks and credit card companies from processing payments for online bets and make it a crime for a gambling business to accept credit cards, wire transfers or any other bank instrument to process payments for illegal gaming transactions."

This is obviously broader than we had originally hoped and not good news. Still trying to get actual language being floated, but no luck yet.

To save my life I can't get a handle on the real reason for the ban other than maxing credit cards which are unsecured and walking away OR being unable to effectively collect taxes on winnings OR profits being used to fund terrorism or organized crime.

Konane wrote:

"To save my life I can't get a handle on the real reason for the ban other than maxing credit cards which are unsecured and walking away OR being unable to effectively collect taxes on winnings OR profits being used to fund terrorism or organized crime."

My guess is the fact they are getting nothing out of it. Name one other aspect of your life that these losers don't have their grubby little hands held out getting something out of it too...

They don't care if it is right or wrong, (the porn industry comes to mind) they just want to control the whole situation so they get some money out of the deal, and a large portion at that. If you don't cut the government in, you won't be doing whatever you are doing very long, and that is a fact...and it doesn't matter which party is in office. They are all the same. Which way would you rather go, trampled by an elephant or kicked in the head by a jackass? It's all the same. Either way, it is going to hurt...

The whole damn bunch (and I mean all of them) needs to be locked in the Superdome together and left to fend for themselves for a week or two...

Frist would sell his mother on a street corner in Harlem if he thought it would get him the presidential nod from the Republican Party. I'd be willing to bet the credit card lobby is not in his corner on this one. The only reason he is doing this is to build street credit with the religious right. He is not a die hard anti abortionist, so he has to attach himself to Jerry Falwell's hind tit somehow.